Rats were infused with vehicle (VEH) or lidocaine (LIDO) in the DH prior to auditory fear conditioning (AFC). The next day, auditory fear retrieval occurred in the same context or a novel context to determine whether LIDO infusions into the DH during training influence cellular processes underlying synaptic destabilization, such as amygdala AMPA receptor internalization and increases in zif268 expression, in the absence of contextual novelty (a). There were no significant behavioral differences between groups during fear retrieval (b). LIDO infusions (n=3 rats) into the DH resulted in significantly greater amygdala zif28 protein expression when compared to a VEH (n=4 rats) infused group (c). A CS presentation in a novel context or DH LIDO infusions prior to training resulted in reduced GluR1 and GluR2 expression when compared to a No Reactivation (NR) control (NR n=15, Context A VEH = 15, Context A LIDO n=12; Context B VEH n=12, Context B LIDO n=11) (d-e). All protein measurements were normalized to actin and there were no significant actin differences between groups (f). *p < 0.05.